Consider a reverse prayer list.

A reverse bucket list. The idea has been around for awhile. Rather than making a list of the things you want to do before you die, the idea is to make a list of the things that you have already done.

I’m not a bucket list fan, but I like the idea. For those of us who feel driven and insecure, it provides a visual reminder of the things that are done, that have been complete. It can help us see a trajectory of completion. Some days, remembering that I did learn to ride a two-wheeler is a big deal.)

I started thinking about making a different list of accomplishments as a reminder of progress. Call it a reverse prayer list. Rather than listing the things we are asking for, we could consider making a list of the things that God has accomplished. It can be on his own, it can be with us, through us, or in spite of us.

Out in our garage the other day, I saw a white board that used to hang in my office. In the corner of it I had written “Only God.” I wrote that much more than a year ago, before I knew about any of the things I’m doing now. I told Nancy back then, after resigning a position before knowing the next one, that our future was going to be an “only God” kind of future. And it has been.

But I couldn’t have been reminded if I hadn’t written it down then. And read it now.

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Lent starts February 14.

“Lent For Non-Lent People” is a seven-week guide to learning to listen for God. In this short book, pastor and social media chaplain Jon Swanson helps readers use the season of Lent to learn to focus on God.